Conflicting Emotions: Solangelo Fanfiction
by EpicKitten202
Summary: Almost a year after the battle with Gaea, Nico and Will have become good friends. Nico starts to wonder if they could be more... but... Nico was utterly terrified of love. Because everyone he had loved had been taken away from him.
1. Chapter 1

NICO

"At this rate, you're going to be demigod stew the next time there's an attack."

Nico was exhasperated. He had been trying to help Will perfect his sword skills, but Will was pretty much hopeless in this reguard. His archery skills were on point, but he had no sword skills whatsoever.

Will glared at the son of Hades. "Well, you're not doing a very good job helping me. You make a pretty crappy teacher, Di Angelo."

Nico rolled his eyes and drew his own Stygian iron sword and positioned himself. "See, Solace, you have to be in more of an athletic stance so you feel more natural slashing your sword."

Will got into an awkward recreation of what Nico had shown him.

"Like this?"

Nico let out a long sigh. He walked over to the blond and moved his arm slightly downward, and instructed him to bend his knees a little.

"That's better." Nico said. Then he realized his hand still lingered on Will's waist. He quickly withdrew, as if the son of Apollo was made of fire. He felt his cheeks burn as he looked away, but Will paid no mind.

"Alright, I think I've got it. It's gonna be me saving _your_ butt next time something attacks." The child of the sun god snickered.

Nico snorted. "You can dream, Will."

It had been nearly a year since the battle with Gaea, and whenever Will would start acting too confident in his abilities, Nico would bring up how he saved the blond during the battle.

Ever since Nico had stayed in the infirmary with him, Will had made an effort to become his friend. He insisted on spending time with Nico whenever he wasn't in the infirmary. At first, Nico tried to push him away, though Will was quite persistant and didn't back down. As time went on, Nico started to rather enjoy Will's company. Will had been the only person who could make Nico laugh, which may have hurt Nico's face muscles, but it felt natural to laugh and smile when he was with the son of Apollo. He had a sarcastic and dry sense of humor, which Nico enjoyed thoroughly. Whenever Will was in the infirmary, Nico frequently stopped by to "wreak havoc and disturb the patients," according to Will. The blond was quickly becoming one of Nico's closest friends (though, he would never admit it).

Ever since the battle, Nico had felt more... whole. He now had let go of the secret that had been haunting him for years. Ever since he revealed this to Percy, he felt like a weight had been lifted from him. Percy acted no different around him, only making a few jokes about not being Nico's type here and there. Nico had also gained many new friends. He had Jason, Reyna, Will, and he was even becoming closer with Annabeth and Piper. Nico was finally somewhat... happy. He hadn't been happy in so long he almost forgot what it felt like. It felt... good.

Will yawned loudly and stretched his shoulders. "I think we should be getting back to camp. It's pretty late, and I have to work in the infirmary for the next few days so I should get some sleep."

Nico shrugged. "Alright. Your technique improved but you still suck."

Will feigned shock. "Nico... that's the nicest thing you've ever said too me. I feel honored."

"You should, Solace. That's the nicest thing I've ever said to anyone."

...

Nico was getting ready for bed, when he heard a voice behind him.

"Hiya neeks!"

Unmistakinably, this was the voice of Jason Grace.

Nico turned around to glare at him. "Gods Jason, do you have any concept of when not to bother people? Anyways, it's almost 10:00. You're missing the campfire. You should probably go back out so I can sleep in peace."

Jason shrugged, amusment flickering in his eyes. "I haven't gotten to talk to you in a while. You're always hanging out with that Will Solace."

Nico felt his face heat up, and he didn't even know why. He and Will were just friends. Just friends.

Jason didn't seem to notice though. He waltzed in and flopped on Nico's coffin bed.

"I'm just curious, what is it that you like about Will? He just seems, like, polar opposite from your personality"

Nico's head snapped over to glare at Will. "I don't like Will like that! Gods, were just friends."

Jason put his hands up in mock surrendor. "Dude, that's not what I meant. I was wondering why liked him as a _friend_. Don't summon a skeleton army please."

Nico relaxed a little. "Oh. Well, I don't know, he just insists on hanging out with me. To be honest I don't even know why were friends."

Jason nodded. "Alright, that's all I wanted to know. "

"So what did you do today, Grace?"

Jason's expression became faraway and distant. His hands tensed, as if he was fighting making a fist. "Piper and I helped work on the memorial to Leo in the Hephestus Cabin."

Nico felt a twinge of emotion tug at him. "Jason, I'm really sorry about Leo. But don't blame yourself. There was nothing you could've done."

Jason looked away. "Yeah.. Well, I'm going to take your advice and go back out to the campfire. See ya, Nico." He smiled at Nico one last time before leaving, but Nico could tell he was still upset about Leo. Nico wasn't very good at comforting people, but he wished he could help Jason.

Nico climbed into bed and wrapped the covers over him. He was reminded of when he would always climb in with Bianca in the middle of the night, and she would wrap the covers around him to make him feel safe. He quickly shook the thought from his mind. He drifted into an uneasy sleep, shaken from the distant memory.

 **AUTHORS NOTES** :

 _Holy shit I'm sorry I fail at writing fanfiction. I can create the story in my mind... but I have a hard time expressing my thoughts in words. xD_

 _Well anyways I'm hoping to update this about once or twice a week, depending on how much time I have to work._

 _Thanks for reading! Sorry for the shittiness of this xD_


	2. Chapter 2

**WILL**

Will was exhausted. He should've known better then to go to the training arena with Nico the previous evening. He was now working in the infirmary, low on sleep and dealing with dozens of injured demigods. Of course, it was all worth it. He had got to hang out with Nico.

Will had been infatuated with Nico for as long as he could remember. Will had seen him from time to time as a young boy, when he first came into camp with his sister. He seemed so effervescent, so full of life. Will had wondered if they could ever become friends. It all changed after his sister's death. He seemed like a totally different person; a hollow shell of who he used to be. He was no longer the cheerful boy Will had watched from afar; he was moody and despondent.

The young medic hadn't seen Nico much since the death of his sister. He caught glimpses of him here and there, but he never had the chance to actually get to know him. Unlike most of the campers, who wanted nothing to do with Nico, Will only became more intruiged by the boy.

Then, after the battle with Gaea, Will finally had his chance to try to become friends with Nico. Although he had to somewhat impose the friendship on Nico, the son of Hades soon began to actually enjoy Will's company.

After awhile, Will had began to develop an... attraction towards the son of Hades. Will had not _meant_ to develop a crush on the boy... originally he had just seemed like an interesting person and Will wanted to get to know him. That's definitely not how it turned out.

Though he was attracted to Nico, he had no intentions of telling him anytime soon. Over the course of their friendship, Will had learned Nico had an extremely short temper. He was happier then he had been in along time, yet he still carried an unbelievable amount of darkness and pain. Will knew that if he tried to tell Nico his feelings... it most likely wouldn't end well. Maybe if the time was right, he would tell Nico... but not yet.

Will absentmindedly wrapped bandages around an injured demigod's arm. His eyes wandered up to the clock, and lo and behold, it was lunch time. He decided to use this as an excuse to get out of the infirmary. Will finished wrapping the young demigod's arm, and went out for lunch.

...

Will strutted out to the mess hall, basking in the warm sunshine that gave the camp an almost supernatural glow. He passed the table for the big three, where Nico, Percy, and Jason were sitting. He grinned when he saw Nico, and punched his shoulder.

"Hey, death boy!"

Nico didn't react to this. He didn't even turn to look at Will. He swirled his fork around his food, seemingly in deep thought.

This didn't seem like the Nico Will knew.

Nico almost always came back with a snarky remark if Will teased him, but Nico stayed eerily quiet. He just abstractedly stared at his plate of food.

Will gave Jason and Percy a confused look, but they just shrugged and gave him a look that clearly said, "I don't know anymore than you do". This worried Will, but Nico clearly didn't want to be bothered and he would definitely not agree to Will fussing over him. Will decided to leave him be, and he went to sit with his siblings.

Throughout lunch, he kept stealing glances at the son of Hades. The young demigod stayed in the same morose state the entire time. He ate a couple more bites of food, and then abruptly stood up from the table, stalked off back to his cabin, and slammed the door shut. Will was immensely curious and concerned now, and he decided he was going to talk to Nico about it, whether he liked it or not.

Will was a healer. His instincts were to heal, whether that was physically or mentally. He could literally sense the darkness in Nico. Some of that darkness had left Nico after the battle with Gaea, much to Will's relief, but a good portion of it still remained. Will desperately wanted to comfort Nico, which was difficult considering Nico's ill nature. He wasn't going to let that stop him, could tell Nico was particularly upset today, and he was determined to find out the cause.

He wolfed down the last bits of food, and paced back to the cabins. He walked up to the Hades cabin and rapped on the door.

No answer.

Will sighed. He swung open the door, only to see Nico Di Angelo sitting on his bed, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. His head snapped around to glare at Will. When he identified him, the anger smoldering in his eyes turned to mere annoyance.

"Go away, Solace! I'm not in the mood." Nico hissed.

Will crossed his arms and looked at the boy. "We should take a walk, Di Angelo. Stop moping around and get up."

"I told you, I'm not in the mood. Leave me alone!"

Nico's glare became even more intense, but Will didn't shrink down. He stared back at Nico with the same intensity.

"Walk. Now. Doctors orders."

Will could literally feel the tension, anger, and darkness rolling off the ghost king. Nico slowly got up and grumbled incoherently at his fellow camper. Will took all of this as somewhat of a good sign. Nico was acting like himself in this regard.

They walked out of the Hades cabin and made their way towards the strawberry fields. Nico looked like he was about ready to murder someone.

This made Will's mission to find out what was bothering him that much more difficult.

 **AUTHORS NOTES:**

 _I'm really sorry, guys, for not posting this sooner. I had obligations scattered throughout this week. This chapter was particularly hard to write, considering that the only purpose of the first two chapters is for exposition and getting the story rolling. I have big plans for the next chapter , though, so bear with me. :)_

 _Thank you to the few people who follow this story! It means a lot. I'm still pretty new to writing fanfiction, so I hope I don't screw anything up._


	3. Chapter 3

**NICO**

Nico gritted his teeth and looked at the slightly taller camper walking alongside him.

"What do you want, Will? I don't have all day."

Will gave Nico a stern look, his soft blue eyes ablaze with a deadly flame. Nico looked away, and instead stared at the hundreds of strawberry bushes in the vincity.

"Something's upsetting you, you're not acting like yourself."

"And what makes you think that?" Nico's tone was soft, but there was undertones of anger quaking beneath.

Will stuffed his hands into his pockets, not breaking eye contact with Nico.

"Well, your usual sassiness is gone, for one. You didn't even give me that 'I'll kill you in your sleep, Solace' signature glare like you usually do!"

Nico balled his hands into fists and glared at the son of Apollo, unable to think of a comeback.

Will cocked his head, amusement flickering in his eyes. "There's your signature glare. I knew it was hiding somewhere." Will laughed, then shook his head. "But that's not the point. You've been acting really weird, and as your camp medic and friend," Will slathered emphasis on the word 'friend' ,"I need to know what's bothering you."

Nico picked up a rock and rubbed in between his fingers. He knew that there was no way of getting past Will Solace. Gods, that guy was unbelievably stubborn. He was going to have to tell him, one way or another.

Nico stared at Will, his expression guarded. "Why should I tell you?"

Will rolled his eyes, clearly exasperated. "I just told you, idiot! Did everything I just say pass right through you?" Will sighed. "Because I'm you're camp medic and your friend."

"And what makes you think were friends?"

Will threw his hands up into the air. "Seriously, death boy? I don't know, maybe because we hang out all the time? You actually tolerate me and seem to like my company?" Will's voiced dripped with sarcasm.

Nico stayed silent. He didn't want to admit that Will was right, Nico did consider him a friend. He also didn't want to explain to Will why he was upset. Gods, why did that guy have to be so freaking stubborn?

"Did you have nightmares?"

Nico froze, shock pulsing through his body. He stayed like this for awhile, staring off into the distance.

But how does he know..?

"H-How in Hades do you know that, Solace?" Nico tried his best to keep his usual angry demeanor.

Will shrugged, a serious and compassionate look replacing his stern glare.

"Percy comes in once in a while and asks for something to help him sleep. I asked him what was bothering him and he said Tartarus gives him nightmares once in a while. I figured you would have to deal with the same thing, maybe even worse, because...you were... you didn't have anyone with you in Tartarus."

Nico could see the word 'alone' almost escaping Will's lips. He silently thanked him for not using that term. Nico was already very well acquainted with the word 'alone'. You could use that word to describe his whole life, really.

He felt his anger dissipating quickly, turning into the familiar feeling of sadness. Will had an innate ability to comfort people, even Nico, which was an extremely hard thing to do. He stayed silent for a few moments, mentally preparing himself to explain to Will what was happening. As much as he hated it, he knew Will would never back down.

Nico exhaled slowly. "Yes... I had nightmares last night. I get them pretty often... but last night Bianca was in them."

Nico felt like a tiny weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He never realized how good it felt to actually tell someone about his struggles, because he had always kept it to himself.

Will nodded, and motioned for Nico to continue.

"I was in Tartarus... and Bianca was on the ground a little ways away, bleeding to death. I called to her, and I tried to reach her, but there was a kind of... forcefield... in the way. Bianca didn't fight it though. She told me something... I can't remember it exactly but it was something along the lines of, 'Go, brother... You have so much left to do.'.."

Nico stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. Emotions were welling up inside him, and he was not comfortable opening up in front of Will.

Wait... why was he revealing so much to Will Solace, of all people? This was a terrible idea.

"Ok, Will. I think you get the point. Can we go now?"

Will grimaced. "Okay, Nico. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I just wish you would figure out that there are people who actually care about you. You don't have to keep it all in. It's okay."

Nico was already on the brink of losing it, because of having to recount his nightmare about Bianca. Though, what Nico absolutely hated, was when people try to comfort him. There was something about the tone of voice they used, or the meaningless things they said, that always made Nico angry.

Nico let the emotion that had built up unleash. So many emotions... fear, anger, sadness...

Conflicting emotions...

It was almost unbearable.

A whirlwind of emotions put a fuzzy outline around Nico's vision. He tried to settle on one emotion to end the storm erupting inside him.

Subconsciously, Nico picked the one emotion he knew best to act upon. The emotion that had been his mask for years. The emotion he was most familiar with, other than depression.

Anger.

 **AUTHORS NOTES:**

 _Alright! It's finally here! Sorry for the late upload (again...), I was having some technical difficulties with my computer ^ ^'_

 _Lets just say that I'll upload a new chapter once or twice every TWO weeks instead of one... I'm not sure my computer is going to cooperate with me anymore._

 _So now that we have the exposition chapters out of the way, actual stuff is starting to happen! Hooray!_

 _I'm trying to make the story as well written and free of spelling errors as possible... Though I'm only 13... I haven't had many sophisticated writing classes yet. xD_

 _Thank you to everyone who likes and comments on this fanfic, it means a lot. I wish I could reply to you guests who comment, but sadly I cannot. I can only tell you now that it means the world to me. Thanks again! 333_


	4. Chapter 4

WILL

Will should've known that Nico wouldn't fully open up to him. He still considered this 'mission' a success, because he at least found out what was bothering the ghost king. Will wished Nico would let him help, because gods knew he carried way too much anguish and pain for his age. But, Will did his best to comfort him and it was all he could do.

Will was broken out of his thoughts when he heard a voice quaking with anger.

"I don't want your pity, Solace."

Will scrunched up his eyebrows, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm bound to suffer, I'm the son of Hades. And I'm used to it. I don't need anyone hovering over me. I'm tired of people's meaningless blather. I'm tired of your fake pity."

Will was extremely confused now. Was Nico angry about Will trying to comfort him? Why would that make him angry?

"Nico, I was only trying to help. Why does that make you _angry_?"

"Because everything you said was meaningless! It's what you would say to anyone who seems depressed. You don't actually care about my well being. Who in their right mind would actually care for a son of Hades?" Nico snarled.

 _Not this again,_ Will thought. Irritation began to loom over Will like an oncoming storm.

"Gods, Nico! I've told you this so many times! It'll never get into that thick head of your's, will it? People do care about you! You have friends! You just love feeling bad for yourself, don't you?"

Nico's voice deadly quiet. "You know I can summon skeletons, you know I can overpower you in a second, yet you still overstep your boundaries."

"Oh, please. I realize that you're much more powerful than me, but I'm not afraid of you."

Nico flexed his jaw and narrowed his eyes. "Why won't you just leave me alone?"

Nico tried to push Will out of the way and walk back towards camp, but Will grabbed his wrist.

"Because I'm your friend!" Will exclaimed, exasperated. "Because I care about you! Is that so hard to see?"

Nico stared at him a moment, the shock visible in his eyes.

"Oh my gods. You don't see it. You really, truly, don't think anyone cares about you."

Nico looked at the ground. "Well, why would they?"

"You saved the camp from utter destruction multiple times, for one thing."

"That wasn't me, that was Percy and Annab-"

"Oh come on, Nico. You know they would've failed without you. Don't let yourself be overshadowed by other people."

"The camp obviously prefers Percy. Nobody at camp really cares about me."

Will let out a groan and placed a hand to his temple. "Percy cares about you. I care about you. You and Annabeth seem to be getting along. Jason is like your big brother now. Even Piper seems to have taken a liking to you!"

Nico stared at his fellow camper, his mysterious brown eyes meeting Will's. He seemed to be analyzing Will, trying to figure out if he was lying or not. His eyes traveled down to see where Will was grabbing his wrist.

After a long moment, Nico mumbled, "Why do you even make an effort to become friends with me? Was it Chiron's orders or something, because I have no friends?"

"I _told_ you, because I like you."

Will intertwined his fingers with Nico's.

 _Oh gods,_ Will thought, _I shouldn't of done that._

Nico looked from their hands, to Will, his eyes wide with shock. Then, realization seemed to settle in. His face turned beet red and he yanked his hand away.

"Just leave me alone, Solace!" Nico turned and walked away towards the cabins, leaving Will feeling foolish and alone.

 **AUTHORS NOTES:**

 _Phew! Finally got this done! My computer still isn't working very well; At one point it deleted the whole document and I had to start over. But, I got it done._

 _This chapter is so angsty, it makes me cringe. My poor babies deserve to be happy and they obviously love each other. Don't worry, my children, things will work out._

 _Sorry this chapter is so short, guys. It was hard to drag out the argument into another chapter. I should've kept it all in the previous chapter, but I really wanted you to see it from Will's perspective._

 _I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter up, because I'll be visiting my best friend next week. She also ships solangelo, so maybe she'll give me some suggestions for the next chapter. 0w0_

 _Feel free to give me some constructive criticism in the comments! You don't have to sugarcoat it either, I really want to know how to improve this story._

 _Thank you to everyone who follows or comments on this fanfiction! It means so much to me, you don't even know. :,)_


	5. Chapter 5

NICO

Nico nearly sprinted back to camp. He could feel Will's eyes burning into the back of his head, and more than anything did Nico want to be alone - and away from Will. He speed walked to his cabin, and his hands grappled with the cold doorknob. The minute he was inside, he slid to the floor and put his head in his hands.

Why did everything have to be so complicated?

Nico ran his fingers through his hair and tried to assess the situation at hand.

So Will... Will might actually have feelings for him?

Deep down, Nico knew he had feelings for the son of Apollo, but he had always denied his feelings and tricked himself into believing he didn't. Because, well, deep down Nico knew... He was afraid.

The concept of 'love' scared the schist out of Nico. Everyone he truly loved had been taken away from him, some way or another. First his mother, then Bianca, then Percy... He was afraid that would happen to the next person he loved. And he just couldn't lose Will. He couldn't.

Rejection was also quite scary to him. At this point, Nico was fairly sure Will returned his feelings... Though, he could never be sure with that idiot. What if Will was just trying to comfort him by taking his hand, nothing more? Then, if Nico actually confessed his feelings to him, Will might think he was a disgusting homosexual and never talk to him again.

And even if Will really did return Nico's feelings and they started dating, what would the other campers think? Nico didn't care what they thought, though... Right? No, of course he didn't.

Even with all of that aside, Nico wasn't sure he would be able to display even the simplest act of affection. Holding hands reminded him of Bianca, and kisses and hugs reminded him of his mother. Knowing Will, he would want to shower Nico with affection, but Nico didn't want that. Nico would want to take the relationship at his pace. But Will probably didn't like Nico anyways, Nico was just overreacting. ..

Nico's shoulders started to shake. There was no way out. There was no way he could be happy.

Nico plopped down at the Big Three table and was immediately met with greetings from Percy and Jason.

"Hey Nico!" Jason grinned at Nico, his glasses falling down to the bridge of his nose.

"How's it going dude?" Percy punched Nico in the shoulder.

"I'm fine!" Nico snapped.

Tension and anger was filling Nico to the brim. He tried his best to calm down; He didn't want Percy and Jason meddling in his business.

"I'm fine." Nico repeated, much more calmly this time.

Jason pushed his glasses back up and cast a concerned look at Percy. Percy just shrugged and motioned for Jason to talk.

"Alright... So, um, Percy and I were wondering if you were doing anything special in your free time today. We're going canoeing! But, if you're hanging with Will today that's fine."

At the mention of Will's name, Nico crushed the biscuit he was holding.

"I don't feel like canoeing."

Jason and Percy exchanged another look. After a long pause, Percy finally broke the silence.

"Dude.. are you okay? You've been acting weird since yesterday and-"

"I told you, I'm fine." Nico said in a deadly quiet voice.

"But-"

Jason elbowed Percy and whispered something to him. They both went back to eating their breakfast, neither one bothering Nico.

Nico ate his food absentmindedly and stared off into space. He wasn't even aware he made eye contact with Will until Will lowered his eyes and turned his head around. Something in Nico's heart shattered into a million pieces.

 _I'm fine,_ he kept repeating to himself.

 _I don't need him._

 _I never liked him anyways._

 _I'm. fine._

AUTHORS NOTES:

Well this took longer than expected to write! I apologize for the delay. I didn't have any time to write on my trip two weeks ago, and this weekend I went on another trip ;;n;;

Behold, more angst and sad Nico. I firmly believe Nico would be utterly TERRIFIED of love. I mean, just think about it! Everyone he's loved so far he's lost. In alot of fanfics, Nico is the one to initate the first kiss or confess his feelings, but in my opinion I think he would be too afraid. Again, that's just my opinion though. And that's the beauty of Solangelo! Everyone can interpret it in their own way, there are no wrong answers!

School and swimming are starting soon, so it might take me awhile to upload new chapters. I'll do my best to upload as frequently as possible, though!

Thank you to everyone who reads, follows, favorites, and comments! You guys are the real heroes. :,)


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